Though the channel appeared to have a considerable breadth, our commander suspected it to be shallow, and such was in fact the case.

The master reported, at his return, that he had only two fathom and a half in many places; and where the vessel lay at anchor, she had only sixteen feet, which was not two feet more than she drew.

Mr.Banks who, while the master was sounding the channel, tried to fish from the cabin window with hook and line, was successful in catching two sort of crabs, both of them such as our navigators had not seen before.

One of them was adorned with a most beautiful blue, in every respect equal to the ultramarine.
With this blue all his claws and joints are deeply tinged; while the under part of him was white, and so exquisitely polished, that to colour and brightness it bore an exact resemblance to the white of old china.

The other crab was also marked, though somewhat more sparingly, with the ultramarine on his joints and his toes; and on his back were three brown spots of a singular appearance.
Early the next morning, Lieutenant Cook, having found the passage between the Islands, sailed to the northward, and, on the evening of the succeeding day, anchored at about two miles distance from the main.